Matheus Fellipe Costa Pereira (born 5 May 1996) is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

club Cruzeiro and the Brazil national team.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, Pereira moved to Portugal at a young age, joining

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

's youth system at the age of 14. On 18 January 2014, whilst still a junior, he made his debut as a senior with the B team, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Cristian Ponde in a 1–1 away draw against C.D. Trofense in the Segunda Liga. He scored his first goal in the competition on 7 March of the following year, contributing to a 4–3 home win over C.D. Tondela. Early into the 2015–16 season, Pereira was first called to the main squad by newly appointed manager Jorge Jesus. His first competitive appearance took place on 1 October, as he started in a 1–1 draw at Beşiktaş J.K. in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Late in the same month he scored his first goals as a professional, helping defeat U.D. Vilafranquense in the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

( 4–0, away) and

KF Skënderbeu Korçë Klubi i Futbollit Skënderbeu Korçë is an Albanian professional association football, football club based in Korçë, southeastern Albania. The club competes in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Football in Albania, Albanian football. ...

in the Europa League (5–1, home), being subsequently selected for the latter competition's team of the week. Pereira was loaned to fellow

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club G.D. Chaves in the 2017–18 campaign. He scored seven league goals during his spell (eight overall), helping them to a sixth-place finish. On 31 August 2018, the last day of the summer transfer window, Pereira joined 1. FC Nürnberg on loan until the end of the season after criticising José Peseiro's choice of not selecting him to the first match against Moreirense F.C. on social media. He made his

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

debut 16 days later, playing 61 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. Pereira scored his first league goal on 30 March 2019, helping the hosts defeat

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

3–0. He was nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award, but his team suffered relegation after finishing last.

West Bromwich Albion

On 8 August 2019, Pereira joined

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

on an initial

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan with a view to a permanent move. He scored his first goal in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

on 28 September, in a 2–0 away win against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. On 20 June 2020, after the player had appeared in the required number of matches, a

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

was triggered, obligating the club into Pereira’s purchase. The following month, he won the Supporters’ Player of the Season award after collecting 65% of the votes. Despite the buyout clause being met months earlier, it took until 17 August 2020 for Pereira to be officially announced as an Albion player, eventually signing a four-year contract. To ensure the player’s focus remained on the field, the board decided to leave the negotiations until after the season had ended. Pereira made his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut on 13 September 2020, playing the entire 0–3 home loss against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He scored his first goal six days later, through a

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the Laws of the Game (association football), laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either dire ...

in a 5–2 away defeat to Everton. On 3 April 2021, Pereira scored a brace in first-half stoppage time in an eventual 5–2 win at Chelsea; this sealed Albion's first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1978, and handed

Thomas Tuchel Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player who is the manager of the England national football team, England national team. Widely regarded as a forward-think ...

his first loss as the opposition's head coach. On 9 May, his tenth goal of the season – becoming the first club player to get on double digits since

Saido Berahino Saido Berahino (born 4 August 1993) is a Burundian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker for NK Tabor Sežana, Tabor Sežana and Captain (association football), captains the Burundi ...

in 2014–15 – amounted to nothing because his team lost 3–1 at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and confirmed their relegation. On 1 August 2021, recently appointed manager

Valérien Ismaël Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. A centre-back, Ismaël played for Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Len ...

announced that Pereira would leave the club before the end of the transfer window, accusing him of "not being committed". The following day, the latter released a statement on his social media accounts, confirming that he wished to leave but also expressing anger at the former's comments, branding them "disrespectful".

Al Hilal

On 6 August 2021, Pereira agreed to a deal with

Al Hilal SFC Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club (), simply known as Al-Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their Association football, football team competes in the Saudi Pro League. In Arabic, Al-Hilal means "the Crescent Mo ...

for an undisclosed fee. He scored his first goal for the club the following 6 February, in a 6–1 rout of

Al Jazira Club Al Jazira Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that currently competes in the UAE Pro League. History Al-Jazira was established in 1974 as a merger between ''Khalidiyah'' and ''Al Bateen''. The club struggled ...

in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

. Pereira was loaned to

Al Wahda FC Al Wahda Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League. The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blu ...

of the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

in January 2023, until June.

Cruzeiro

In July 2023, also on loan, Pereira joined

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Cruzeiro is the greatest team of Minas Gerais. Although competing in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its as ...

. He made his Série A debut on 29 July aged 27, in a 3–3 draw at

Club Athletico Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (abbreviated CAP, commonly known as Athletico Paranaense and up to 2019 known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian Football League Teams, Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the State ...

. He scored his first goal on 30 November, in the reverse fixture against the same opposition (1–1). On 17 June 2024, having totalled seven goals and ten assists from 40 appearances until that point, Pereira signed a permanent two-year contract for about

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

5.5 million. In December that year, he was voted Player of the Year at the

Mineirão Mineirão (; , named after its large structure), officially known as Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium (, ; , named after Magalhães Pinto), is an association football stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Owned by the state of Minas Gerais, it ...

after leading his team in goals and decisive passes.

International career

On 11 October 2024, Pereira was called up for the Brazil national team to replace

Lucas Paquetá Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima (born 27 August 1997), better known as Lucas Paquetá (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays either as an attacking midfielder or winger for club West Ham United and the Brazil national team. Paq ...

, who was suspended for the match against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

qualifiers to be held four days later; he featured 15 minutes in the 4–0 win in

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

to earn his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

Career statistics

Honours

Al Hilal *

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

: 2021–22 *

Saudi Super Cup The Saudi Super Cup () is the annual super cup tournament in Saudi Arabian football. Founded in 2013 as a two-team competition, the Super Cup has been contested by four teams since 2022: the winners and runners-up of the King's Cup and the Sa ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

References

External links

*
Portuguese League profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Matheus 1996 births Living people 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from Belo Horizonte Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Sporting CP B players Sporting CP footballers G.D. Chaves players Bundesliga players 1. FC Nürnberg players Premier League players English Football League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Saudi Pro League players Al Hilal SFC players UAE Pro League players Al Wahda FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players AFC Champions League Elite–winning players Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates